Lesson 1 : An Introduction
Read the story given below and discuss with your partner where the capital letters have been used :
There was a poor boy named Rakib. He lived in a small village of Ghorasal in Palash upazila under Narsingdi district. His mother died on a Sunday in January 1994. At that time, Rakib was only five. When he was 12, he started to work in a rich man's family as a domestic help since his father was not in a position to bring him up. Rakib used to obey the orders of the family members although Mojnu, the only son of the rich man, did not like to get things done by Rakib. Rakib was happy to see his master's son Mojnu going to a school named Fulkuri High School. Although he had to work hard, he used to ponder upon the things and events around him whenever he could find time. "I want to learn what my master's son is learning" said Rakib to himself. He made friendship with Mojnu. Mojnu used to tell stories to Rakib about the successes of some hard-working people with a view to inspiring his friend. He also used to tell stories about some countries such as Singapore, Australia, and Japan. Rakib thought, "If I could go to the countries!" He started to learn English and Japanese languages through watching TV, and by reading books named Learn English, Learn Japanese. Alongside learning languages, he started to learn about different nations such as the French, the Americans, and the Indians. By this time Rakib was 22. He became a member of the local Library near the high school and used to borrow books from there. By reading books and through holding dialogues with his friend, he acquired knowledge equivalent to a secondary school passed student with good grade. Last week he read about the Declaration of Independence of Bangladesh and about the French Revolution which made him more aware of his rights and responsibilities. He got a job in a Singapore Dockyard through browsing the Internet at the library. The senior members working voluntarily at the library were of great help in this regard. Rakib's hard work started to make his long-cherished dream a reality. Rakib is grateful to Allah for His help to make his plan successful.
Work in pairs and make a list where capital letters are used in writing. The first one is done for you. (The first letter in a sentence becomes capital.)
Now compare your list with the one given below.
Features of Capitalisation
- The first letter of the first word in a sentence (The bird is flying.)
- Names of people (Rakib, Mojnu, Rahim, Ratan, etc.), places (Ghorasal, Palash, Narsingdi, Dhaka, London, etc), days (Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, etc.), months (January, February, March, etc.), rivers (the Padma, the Ganges, the Megna, the Buriganga, etc.), mountains (Mt. Everest, Mt. Cook), huge constructions (the Sears Tower, the Eifel Tower, etc.) start with capital letters.
- Names of organizations (Savar High School, High Court, Notre Dame College, World Bank, etc.) begin with capital letters.
- The pronoun "I" always is capital (As he called me for help, I helped him).
- Names of nations (Bangladeshis, Americans, British) begin with capital letters.
- The main words in a title of a book or of a chapter or an article (Learn English, Learn Japanese; Great Expectations; The Liberation War of 1971, etc.) start with capital letters.
- The main words of historical events or documents (Declaration of Independence, French Revolution, etc.) always start with capital letters.
- Letters and acronyms that stand for names or organizations (UNICEF, TV, IELTS etc.) have to be written with capital letters.
- Names of the Almighty and related pronouns are always capital (I am surprised to see God's power and His immense love for mankind).
- The first word in Quotation Marks starts with a capital letter (He said to me, "Go home at once").
Lesson 2 : Use of Punctuations
Look at the following punctuation marks and discuss in pairs what their names are and why they are used.
Now compare your answers from the given table.
| Punctuation Marks | Functions |
?= (Question Mark or Note of Interrogation)
| It is used at the end of an interrogative sentence like: It is also used in brackets to express a doubt: His mother died of cancer (?). Generally you have to stop for a second after this mark. |
| ! = ('Note of exclamation' or 'Exclamation Mark') | It is used to express strong feelings such as astonishment, delight, and anger. For example : What a huge snake (it is)! Wow! What a great shot (it is)! Go now! If I were a bird! |
. = ('Period'. another name 'Full Stop')
| After this mark, one must have a pause. It is used at the end of Assertive, Imperative, and Optative sentences. ➤ Faridul is a good boy. It is also used in abbreviations: ➤ Ph.D. |
, = (Comma)
| A comma is used ➤ to separate the items in a list such as mangoes, oranges, jackfruits, etc. ➤ to address someone: Dear Rakib, Dear Sir, My dear friends, etc. ➤ to separate Introductory 'Yes, No, Well', etc. to separate an adverbial clause ➤ when used at the beginning of a sentence (If it rains, I will not go to school). ➤ Before the Quotation Mark (e.g. My mother said, "Where are you going?") |
: = (Colon)
| A colon is used ➤ to separate two sentences of which the second clarifies the meaning of the first (I know Professor Motiar well: we lived together for five years.) ➤ to separate the speaker and their speech or words (How can I help you, Sajjad?). |
; = (Semi- colon)
| A semi-colon is used ➤ to separate different sense groups of a sentence or a list (Our English teacher asked us to stop playing; to start working in the garden; and then to go home.). ➤ If the clauses in a compound sentence are not |
un "= (Quotation Marks'or 'Inverted Commas)
| Quotation marks are used ➤ to quote someone directly (My father said, "Help the poor.") ➤ Indicate the names of books (King Lear, Shesher Kobita). ➤ Highlight a word ('I' is a personal pronoun). |
'= ('Apostrophe').
| It is used to : ➤ form the possessives (Rahim's book, Children's Park, Boys' School, etc.). ➤ make contracted form (don't, isn't, wasn't, etc.). ➤ indicate omission of a letter (7 O' Clock). |
- =(Dash/ hypen)
| It is used to ➤ form compound words (father-in-law). (This is the |
(1) {2} [3] =(Brackets').
| Brackets are frequently used in Mathematics. But they are also used to ➤ give some explanations of some words or ideas. Example: Some teachers use realia (real objects) in their teaching. |
Exercise 1 :
Read the following dialogue and use punctuation marks in each gap as necessary.
Disha: Did you call me yesterday_.
Papia: Sorry I forgot to call you _However_Nazrul called you_
Disha: Why did Nazrul call me_ Papia: He said_ _I want to give some things to Disha_
Disha: What are those things_
Papia: So far as I know they are a set of books_ a box of colour pencils_an Oxford Dictionary_ and a laptop_
Exercise 2 :
Now, read the following application written by a class eight student. Work in pairs to decide why his English teacher has underlined some areas. Consider capitalization and the use of punctuation marks.
the head master subject prayer for activating the school library dear sir faithfully yours |
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